Zero 7 - The Garden - Atlantic

Zero 7 are the English "sound-design" duo of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker who debuted in 2001 with their now classic Simple Things album, a collection of warm, soulful and chilled out electronica. The Garden is their gorgeous third release and not too unlike their previous albums, which put them in a similar musical genre wih bands like Royksopp, Air, Portishead. This time around however, Zero 7 have added a more upbeat musical direction to their trademark ambience and finds them mining some excellent & fertile musical ground.

Amazon.com says it best: "The Garden is an intriguing listen, showcasing the sophistication that makes Zero 7 the Steely Dan of chillout--wry, intelligent lyrical observations, inventive musicianship, a detached sense of cool forged by the duo's heady blend of folk, jazz, '70s soul, and electronica. " The vocals this time around are handled by Sia (who has been guest singing with the band since their debut) and Swedish singer-songwriter Jose Gonzalez who sings on four songs including a wonderful reworking of his own song, "Crosses." The Garden is a wonderfully diverse collection of sounds and beats and songs. On it Zero 7 continue to push vocal based electronica towards adventurous places.